Recycling bins roll into Mint Hill

All Mint Hill residents will soon be the proud owners of 96-gallon, rolling recycling containers.

Blue residential recycling bins are being delivered to homes now and the town’s contracted service provider, RCS, will switch to recycling pick-up every other week beginning Aug. 27. Mint Hill businesses will not receive the rolling containers.

Town Manager Brian Welch said the move won’t cost the town any additional cash because RCS agreed to waive a $1 per house, per month fee for the final year of the current five-year contract during negotiations with the town for a five-year contract renewal. In fact, the deal will mean a savings of $97,200 for the town, he said.

The town has about 8,100 households.

Mint Hill’s new recycling set-up comes on the heels of the June adoption of a more aggressive timeline for waste reduction in Mecklenburg County.

Commissioners in Matthews and Mint Hill both voted in favor of the plan. The state-required, 10-year plan must be updated every three years, according to Bruce Gledhill, director of Mecklenburg County Solid Waste. The document establishes goals and programs for handling solid waste and establishes waste reduction goals, identifying ways to meet them. The plan also describes the methods used to collect and transport solid waste and recyclables to disposal and processing facilities in an “environmentally sound” manner, according to county records.

Since 1999, Mecklenburg County has reduced the amount of waste headed to landfills, per capita, by about 40 percent, Gledhill said previously. And the use of rolling recycling containers in many municipalities has helped in that effort, he said.

“Generally, municipal recycling is up since the advent of the rollout containers. They’re larger so they give you more space and we’ve found that not only do we get more materials, we get materials better protected from the elements. The covered lid really keeps things in good condition,” Gledhill said.

Matthews began using the 96-gallon containers last summer and estimates more than 42 percent of the solid waste generated in Matthews is diverted from the landfill. More than 80 percent of town residents and small businesses recycle, according to a news release from the town. Businesses that generate enough waste to require a Dumpster are required by law to recycle using larger containers.

“Since we implemented the green recycling roll-out carts last year we have increased tons recycled by more than 50 percent,” said Annette Privette-Keller, communications director for the Town of Matthews. “Our goal is to continue to increase the amount of tons recycled every year.”

In June, Mecklenburg County commissioners approved a fee hike for solid waste. Now towns pay an additional $1.50 per ton of waste dumped at landfills, increasing tipping fees from $27.50 per ton to $29 per ton.

Want to know more?
For more information about the recycling schedule in Matthews or to request an extra recycling calendar, call Rosalind Wooten at 704-847-3640 or email rwooten@matthewsnc.gov. Calendar postcards also are available at the Matthews Library and town hall.
For more information about Mint Hill’s new recycling schedule, call Mint Hill Town Hall at 704-545-9726.